Go4Cork: The natural solution to a comfortable environment

Our designer spotlight for today welcomes a new professional: Go4Cork, located in Portugal. The main aim of this building supplies expert? To bring cork to life and introduce it into our daily lives.

Go4Cork combines design, functionality, and performance in addition to creating technical and creative practical products that aid in the various areas of our lives. And since cork is a 100% natural, reusable and recyclable product, it is the ideal solution in this day and age where we’re all trying to live a greener lifestyle.

Let’s find out more about cork and the company…

1. What is cork?

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Cork is the bark which covers the cork oak tree. As a 100% natural raw material, it has quite the number of exceptional properties that make it stand out from its competition. Cork is light, completely resistant to liquids and gases, elastic and compressible. Plus, it provides perfect thermal and acoustic insulation, is not readily susceptible to fire, and highly resistant to abrasion which makes it a perfect component for design and architecture.

What aids in cork’s fantastic thermal insulation properties is the air which fills its cells. The same protective quality (although not the same level of insulation) can also be picked up in various other natural products like wool and feathers, plus in man-made products like double-glazed windows.

Even though there are some individual differences between the cork trees from various countries, they are all from the same species (Quercus suber L) and have no significant changes in quality.

The main qualities of cork that stand out are:

• Lightness

• Flexibility / compressibility

• Impenetrability

• Decay resistant

• Top-notch insulation

• Biodegradable

• Recyclable

• Renewable.

2. Go4Cork and its mission

Decoration

Go4Cork sees the circle as a wheel that constantly reinvents itself. And that same movement is also a part of all the other products created by the company, for all of them are continuously being improved upon in a similarly circular pattern.

Go4Cork improves its products in order to improve our world – and just like the improvement pattern, the world keeps on turning, and so does the company keep on improving and moving forward. And it is this far-reaching circle that enables Go4Cork to leave a positive footprint on the world.

The mission of Go4Cork: Promote cork, developing solutions using sustainable composites with multiple uses, both in performance and creative contexts.

3. The presence of cork in your home projects – and why

From DIY projects for interior décor to underlays, cork can play a big part in our home environments – especially since it’s one of our planet’s most sustainable natural resources. Keep in mind that cork is also a valuable social and economic developmental element for Western Mediterranean countries, for it provides living- and working conditions to thousands of people living in arid and semi-arid zones.

But why cork?

• Cork respects nature: It is completely natural, reusable, and recyclable. No trees are cut down when the bark is harvested – in fact, the process is even beneficial, since a stripped cork oak is known to absorb about five times more carbon dioxide during the natural process of regeneration than a regular cork oak.

• Cork ensures quality products: It is known for its waterproof-, elastic-, compressible-, hypoallergenic-, and toughness qualities. Add in today’s advanced production technologies, and these qualities are enhanced even further to produce tough and highly durable products that stimulate and aid in our daily lives.

• Cork contributes to the circular economy: In addition to using cork not utilised in the wine industry, Go4Cork also make use of by-products from other sources (including the packaging-, automotive-, and footwear industries). This helps the company contribute to a true circular economy where everything is turned into new products and solutions and no wastage occurs.

5. Beautiful examples of cork in your home: Laundry room

Anti-vibration base

Thanks to its excellent vibration absorption, cork can also be integrated into areas prone to noise, like washing rooms. There's also room to apply it to gym floors, garages and other multipurpose areas where it is practical and easy to clean.

7. Beautiful examples of cork in your home: Wall insulation

Construction Materials

Reducing noise levels can have a dramatic effect on your wellbeing within a home and cork is a fantastic way to do this. Used as insulation boards inside a home's walls, cork helps to drown out noises from loud appliances, neighbours, traffic, etc.

8. Beautiful examples of cork in your home: Table accessories

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Protect those sensitive table surfaces in the bedroom, kitchen, dining room, and anywhere else with cork coasters! And how about trivets, trays and placemats? That's all thanks to cork being insulated, lightweight, and perfectly waterproof.